Craig Anderton Named Executive Vice President, Evangelist for Gibson

February 20, 2013

Gibson today announced that music industry icon Craig Anderton will be joining the company in the role of Executive Vice President, Evangelist to implement a far-reaching program devoted to music education and enjoyment.

Prior to joining Gibson, Anderton was Editor in Chief of Harmony Central. In a long and distinguished career as musician, author, musicologist and innovator, Anderton has played Carnegie Hall, published over two dozen books, and written thousands of articles.

“When Gibson decided to set up a program to spread the joy and fun of making music, the only person we considered was Craig Anderton,” said Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. “His depth and breadth of knowledge, unquestioned credibility, international outlook, and record of vision and accomplishment that stretches back decades, is quite simply unmatched. He’s a true visionary.”

Over his career, Anderton has toured and recorded with the group Mandrake, wrote the seminal books Electronic Projects for Musicians and Home Recording for Musicians, foretold the rise of electronic dance music back in 1981, consulted for dozens of companies, and has lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and in three languages.

“The distinction of being an evangelist for Gibson, not a Gibson evangelist, is important,” said Juszkiewicz. “We value and respect Craig’s objectivity and independence, and we’ve encouraged him to continue immersing himself in the real-world experiences, whether writing, lecturing, or performing, that make him such an outstanding educator.”

Anderton created a mechanically programmable drum machine in 1970, invented multiband distortion, started the first media-rich website devoted exclusively to musicians in 1995 on AOL and co-founded Electronic Musician magazine.

"It was simply unthinkable for me to pass up an opportunity like this," said Anderton. “Gibson has the vision, scope, resources, and commitment to initiate a world-wide effort to make the world a better place through music.”